Super League team guide: Shenton form vital for Tigers’ improvement?
Published:
Team Name: Castleford
Nickname: Tigers
Ground: The Jungle (Wheldon Road)
Famous Fans: Chris Silverwood (cricketer), Tim Bresnan (cricketer), Alan Hallsall (Tyrone from Coronation Street), Alan Smith (footballer)
Super League Wins: None
Last Season: 4th in Super League
New Signings: Junior Moors, Ben Roberts (both Melbourne Storm), Denny Solomona, Matt Cook, Scott Moore, Mike McKeeken (all London Broncos), Steve Crossley (Featherstone Rovers) and Luke Gale (Bradford Bulls)
Head Coach: Daryl Powell
A Grand Final loser with Leeds in 1998, Powell took to coaching with the Rhinos in 2001 and won 58 per cent of his games in charge of the Headingley Club.
He also coached at international level with Ireland and enjoyed a brief stint in Rugby Union with Leeds Tykes before really finding his feet at the helm of Featherstone Rovers.
A win percentage of 76 from 137 games was enough for the Tigers to take notice, especially after his Rovers side knocked the Super League outfit out of the 2012 Challenge Cup.
His first season with Castleford delivered a best-ever fourth-place finish and saw him pick up the Coach of the Year award so optimism is high this season.
Star Man: Michael Shenton
While Marc Sneyd was last year’s top goalscorer in Super League with 99 and Justin Carney was the Tigers’ joint top scorer with 17 tries, Shenton’s all round game makes him an integral part of the Cas line-up.
The 28-year-old returned to the Tigers last year after a brief spell at St Helens and quickly showed Castleford what they’d been missing, matching Carney’s 17 tries but also chipping in with a further 17 assists and getting stuck in with 512 tackles from the wing.
Check out Castleford in sparkling form at the start of last season efforts in Wigan’s try of the year shortlist – courtesy of the SLHighlights:
Super League Grand Final odds: 16/1
Ladbrokes Challenge Cup odds: 25/1
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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